Time today has been short; not more than 15 minutes for blogging. But what I have to say takes about ten words or less. Don’t hold me to that, but here goes: Comfort food Italian style doesn’t get any better than focaccia and panini alle olive. OK, that was fourteen words, and I’m about to blather on a bit more. But these lovelies warrant it.

I don’t let my children or myself indulge in this stuff often; you can imagine why. But there are times when nothing else will do. Yeast, olive oil and sea salt are most surely the ingredients of a deep, cozy conviction that life can be okay if only you’ll let it. In moderation, this is the stuff of a happy tummy, the antidote to a stormy mood, and one of the loveliest (and cheapest ways) to welcome yourself back to Italy after traveling elsewhere. Yum.